Acts of Civil DisobedienceGreensboro Sit-Ins

Who: Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil, African American College Students from North Caroline Agricultural and Technical School

What: These four students sat down at Woolworth's lunch counter, where the official policy was to refuse service to anyone but whites. The students' were denied service and they refused to give up their seats. Police arrived, but were unable to arrest or remove the students due to lack of provocation. The students stayed until the store was closed and then returned the next day with more students from local colleges.

Why: Ezell, David, Joseph, and Franklin were inspired and motivated by Mohandas Gandhi's, practice of non-violent protests. They wanted to end segregation and thought a sit-in would work towards accomplishing this goal.

Results: After protesters' at at the at the Woolworth's Lunch Counter from February to July of 1960, on July 25th Woolworth's changed their stores policy around use of the lunch counters and integrated 9 lunch counters. Additionally, by the end of March news of the sit-ins in Greenboro had spread over TV and inspired groups of American Americans to continue the sit-ins in 55 cities southern cities across 13 states.